The internet was quick to call out immature behavior after one poster shared a screenshot of insulting text messages they received from a former coworker in a recent viral post.
In a Reddit post titled, "Recently left a toxic job and one of my former coworkers is a lil mad," Reddit user u/MetatronMusic detailed their decision to resign from their job and the explosive aftermath of that decision. Posted in Reddit's popular r/antiwork forum, the viral post has received more than 20,400 upvotes in just one day.
Explaining that they had recently given their two weeks' notice to their employer, the text messages shared by u/MetatronMusic started with a simple message from a now-former coworker: "Thanks."
"For what?," the Redditor asked.
"F*****g over my weekend off," their disgruntled coworker responded.
Speaking with Newsweek, u/MetatronMusic revealed that they were pushed to quit their job by a different coworker who repeatedly made racist and sexist comments. Adding that they worked in the food industry, the Redditor said a heated argument on their second-to-last day prompted them to quit a day before their final scheduled shift.
Within the text messages included in the original Reddit post, u/MetatronMusic expressed remorse for leaving a day early, but explained that they could not stand to be around their coworker for another day. Lobbing a series of insults at the original poster, the texting coworker was less than understanding.
"You had one day left but decided to f**k everyone else," they texted. "We're glad you left."
"Great sounds like it worked out for everyone," the Redditor responded.
"Except for you. You'll fail," their coworker asserted.
Amid a mass-quitting phenomenon dubbed "The Great Resignation," American workers are quitting at rates that have never been seen before. Earlier this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 4.5 million American employees quit their jobs — the highest number since the bureau began collecting data in 2000.
However, while much of the conversation surrounding The Great Resignation has involved employees quitting for a myriad of reasons including, low wages, lack of benefits, and poor work-life balances, but less has been made about employees who have remained in their current positions.
In a recent study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), employees remaining at jobs reported taking on greater workloads to account for quitting coworkers. According to the SHRM study, 52 percent of employees who have chosen to stay at jobs have had to take on more work and responsibilities, and 30 percent of those workers reported struggling to get necessary work done.
Amid The Great Resignation, 28 percent of employees who have stayed at their jobs reported feeling more lonely at work, 27 percent reported feeling less loyal to their employers, and 55 percent now wonder if their wages are high enough.
Despite the data collected by SHRM, Redditors commenting on the viral post showed little sympathy for the upset coworker who told u/MetatronMusic they'd fail.
In the post's top comment, which has received 7,000 votes, Redditor u/Goateed_Chocolate remarked that the texting coworker's messages did not make sense, and called them out for hypocrisy.
"'You f****d over my weekend... I'm glad you left," they wrote mockingly. "Yep, that tracks."
Calling the coworker immature and a handful of NSFW names, many Redditors defended the original poster's decision to leave early and railed against the angry response.
Redditor u/SnooGoats625 assured u/MetatronMusic that they made the correct decision.
"Sounds like you made the right call by not working one more day there," they wrote.
In a lengthy response, Redditor u/BlobTheBuilderz recounted a similar experience to the original poster's and advised employers to employ strategies to prevent situations like these from ever arising.
"What is it with coworkers being mad at colleagues for leaving? I work my scheduled hours to the tee and I leave and others complain that I'm not a team player," they wrote. "Hire more staff if you have too much work for the team you have."
"Instead it's less staff and increased workload to save money," they added.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Taylor McCloud is a Newsweek staff writer based in California. His focus is reporting on trending and viral topics. Taylor ... Read more
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